Just like the real word the more gold you have the more stuff you can buy. While we tend to spend our money on video games and fast food, in Dota 2 having a good cash flow will allow you to by weapons and items of awesome destructive power. Where do you get this gold? Luckily not by working a 9-5, no the currency of Dota 2 is primarily earned through farming creeps and farming creeps is done by last hitting said creeps. While that is not the sole method of gaining gold in the game, it is the most important and the one we will be focusing on throughout the guide.

Last Hitting and Creeps

Chances are if you’re reading this then you know what last hitting is, but for those who don’t. Last hitting is when you hit a creep for the killing blow (it dies from your attack). Successfully last hitting a creep will give you the bounty (gold), which varies depending on the type of creep you hit. Melee creeps give the least (38-38 gold), ranged give a little more (43-53) and siege creeps give the most (66-80).

Last hitting is hard to do because not only do each of the minion types have a different amount of health, every Hero does a different amount of damage and has a different attack animation that take a different amount of time.  Add to that the fact that the minions are also hitting each other during all this and you can see why it is a difficult aspect of the game to master. Last hitting is all about timing and if you want to get good at last hitting (which everyone should) you’ve got to practice, practice, practice. Start a game against bots and spend the whole match practicing your last hits. To start with, try a ranged or caster champion as they are usually easier to get the timing down for and you will be able to avoid any enemy hero harass for the most part.

When you think you are getting the hang of it challenge yourself with some drills. A popular one is to try and get 100 creep kills in ten minutes in single player game type. Once you’ve learned the ropes on one hero switch them out for a new one and start the process over. Knowing every champions last hitting tendencies will not only allow you to farm like a mad man, you will also be able to more effectively deny the enemy hero if you’ve played them.

Tips and Tricks for Success

• Timing is everything. I know it was mentioned multiple times in the article before but it really is the most important thing. Measure how long it takes form when you command your hero to attack until the damage is actually done. If you can keep that in the back of your mind while farming it really will help improve your last hits.
• Avoid Dying. Dying in Dota 2 is twice as damaging as it not only takes a portion of your gold; you also give some to the enemy hero.  Some simple tips to avoid an untimely demise include not overextending your lane, and to keep an eye on the minimap for possible ganks.
• Don’t push the lane to far. Keeping pressure on the enemy hero is important because it keeps them from farming, but even if you kill them try not to push right up to their tower (at least not right away). Instead try to keep the creeps in equalized while focusing your efforts on making sure every last hit lands. After gathering some items and becoming more powerful you can start to pressure the tower a little more, but remember to continue focusing on the last hits even while assaulting the tower.
• Let your creeps do the most of the work. Unless you have your back against the wall in the early minutes of the match let your creeps do the majority of the damage to the enemies creeps and only attack yourself for the last hit. Doing this has two benefits. One it allows you to focus exclusively on last hitting, making the odds that it is successful greater and two, it keeps the lane balanced and does not push it into enemy territory. At a certain point your abilities will be able to one shot most creeps but until then hold back your attack until the last hit.

These tips will help you improve your gold gathering skills, but ultimately farming gold comes down to practice and timing; and he only way to get both of these is to jump into the game and get some hours under your belt.